Gabelli Funds LLC Has $9.46 Million Stock Holdings in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 29.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 495,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 202,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $9,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its position in Baxter International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 46,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Baxter International by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 160,033 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,644,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $18.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.85. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.73 and a 52-week high of $32.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.72. The stock has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BAX. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $19.91.

Baxter International Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.